


Long Live The King

by Bass_Line



Category: Seven Kingdoms: The Princess Problem (Visual Novel)
Genre: 7KPP Midsummer Gift Exchange 2020, F/F, F/M, I'm not good at plotting schemes, Mentions of Non-Consensual Sex, This is an absolute disaster honestly
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-29
Updated: 2020-06-29
Packaged: 2021-03-04 06:14:42
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Major Character Death, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,305
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24979009
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bass_Line/pseuds/Bass_Line
Summary: As long as she could make Revaire return to the way her father told her of, Celia would do anything.
Relationships: Corval Lady/Gisette, Corval Lady/Jarrod
Kudos: 6





	Long Live The King

**Author's Note:**

> For iolanthepeverells on Tumblr.

Celia didn't like this, there were too many variables to consider and little way to eliminate them cleanly. She had some respect towards Gisette for plotting the late Lord Adalric's murder, now that she knew that investigating was far easier than plotting the perfect murder. In a way, she wasn't _actually_ plotting her own plans for murder, she was simply taking Gisette's as well as the mysterious servant's plots to form her own.

Her initial plan wasn't to murder her husband, the plan was to manipulate and persuade Jarrod to be less of a bastard and more of a… well, Celia knew that her husband would forever remain the brute he was, she simply hoped that he would be less of an asshole with her manipulating the shit out of him. Alas, even her abilities couldn't reform the current King of Revaire the slightest, which meant that it was time for her backup plan.

In all honesty, Celia had wanted to eliminate her damned husband seven years ago the moment he forced himself on her weeks after the summit ended. She detested being seen as a mere baby-making machine, and detested being only seen as a homemaker even more. She wondered if her complicated relationship with her sister-in-law had something to do with her steady rise in recognition, either way she was pleased to finally be respected as the Queen of Revaire, and not simply as Jarrod's accessory. Besides, there were some advantages to having a daughter. One of them was to see her husband throw such a tantrum the moment he learnt of his child's gender that even Gisette openly scolded him in front of the servants. Celia had a hard time holding in her laughter upon witnessing his humiliation, and she would love to see it once more, that didn't require her to have another child of course.

The other advantage was that while taking care of her daughter, she was able to spend quality time learning how to be a proper ruler, or at least a decent enough ruler that didn't cause the nation to enter months of bloody massacres. Jarrod refused to help raise his daughter, giving Celia complete control over how she wanted Raisa to be raised. If she couldn't persuade her husband to be less shitty, she could always raise her daughter to not end up like her father. Or her aunt, hell, she didn't like the probability of Raisa being like her mother. If possible, she would like her dear daughter to stay innocent and free from sin, whatever people considered sin anyways.

Celia had been plotting her husband's death for a few months now, and she was nowhere near executing her plot. There were so many details that were risky, from carefully staging arguments between her and her husband to eliminating potential witnesses. Then there was the issue of creating alibis, she decided to take the easy way out and start an affair with her sister-in-law. Good thing Gisette could never truly let go of her feelings towards Celia, that worked in her favour even though it created even more risks for her plot. Of course, she wouldn't be stupid enough to trust the princess with her plans. She had to start a few arguments with Jarrod in order to give herself 'sufficient' reason to run into the chilly embrace of her sister-in-law, who no doubt had her suspicions towards Celia's motives.

"Why did I even marry you? You're just a disgusting pig with a half-torn neck. No, a pig is too much of a compliment for you. You're just a waste of space, lose some weight at least." Jarrod growled once before they turned in for the night, making his disdain for his wife obvious. Celia rolled her eyes at her husband's 'compliment', scoffing at him. "How the hell can one woman become this fat after spawning a child…"

" _You're_ the one who wanted to marry this waste of space, at least I'm not stupid and blind. No wait, maybe I am, considering that I married a fucking asshole." That sent Jarrod flying into a rage, and within seconds she was punched square in the jaw, the impact sending her onto the bed they shared. This was part of Celia's plot, and it was the one she hated the most. With Gisette, it was dangerous but pleasurable. Jarrod? Fucking painful, and not in a kinky way. He roared, yanking her collar and tossed her to the cold hard floor below. "My dearest, you're getting predictable as of late. Is the weight of the crown too much for you?"

"Why don't you fucking shut that loose mouth of yours, you slut?!" A kick was delivered to her abdomen, then another, and another. Not once did Celia let out a whimper, instead glaring at her husband hatefully throughout the beating. She coughed out blood, her hand barely able to wipe it away from her lips when Jarrod stomped hard on said hand. Only then did she yell in pain, followed by a string of curses muttered under her breath. "WILL YOU STOP THAT BLOODY WHINING OF YOURS?!"

"EVER CONSIDERED _NOT_ TESTING HOW MANY OF MY BONES CAN YOU FUCKING BREAK WITH THAT DAMN FOOT OF YOURS?!" Celia yelled back, coughing violently as Jarrod finally stopped the abuse. She really didn't like this aspect of her plot, but it was necessary. She was glad that Raisa's bedroom was nowhere near theirs, and that it would take a good half an hour just to reach their bedroom. Jarrod scowled, his back turned on his wife as she got up, painfully thanks to the injuries received. Celia decided that she wouldn't sleep in the same room as her husband, she was sick of seeing his face and she needed a quiet place for her to consolidate her thoughts. "Have fun… sleeping alone… bastard."

"WHAT DID YOU JUST SAY?!" Celia managed to limp her way out of their bedroom before Jarrod could throw a table at her, she didn't need a repeat of what happened five years ago. She waved down a servant and instructed him to help her to an empty guest bedroom, her purple eyes narrowing as she realised that the particular servant served the Revaire princess. This revelation provided her a new addition to her plot, making it slightly less risky than what she had initially predicted.

Her chest heaved as she stumbled into the empty bedroom, her back landing on the mattress with such force that it would break a bed of low quality. The servant, whose name was Marcus, scurried away, not wanting to be seen by the King for helping his injured wife. Celia chuckled, all she had to do now was to somehow obtain a poison that was strong enough to kill Jarrod within a few hours as well as a numbing agent in liquid form. Gaining Marcus's trust would be easy, he clearly pitied her and would definitely do whatever she asked of him as long as it was innocent. No, she thought to herself. She didn't need to explicitly express her wish to see Jarrod dead to him, a forged letters from a mysterious benefactor or even someone close to her would suffice.

"Celia, may I come in?" Said woman flinched, how the hell did Gisette know that she was in there? She sighed, giving her sister-in-law the permission to enter while making a mental note to prevent Marcus from feeding said princess critical information. The last thing Celia needed was the ice princess knowing her full plan. Gisette entered the room, a worried expression on her features as she made her way towards the Queen. Whether or not her worry was sincere was the least of Celia's concerns, she had bigger fish to fry and one jackass of a husband to deal with. "... It's my brother again, isn't it?"

"At least _one_ of the royal siblings has a brain."

"... Does being the Queen of Revaire really mean so much to you, to the extent that you'll forgo your safety?" Celia always wondered why Gisette bothered to fake warm words whenever they were in private, she knew her sister-in-law enough that everything she said always had a hidden purpose, and sometimes, Celia was just too tired to play the game she admired. Gisette sighed, placing an opaque bottle on the bedside table. "Very well, here's a numbing agent to ease your pain. Do take care to not use it if you've come into contact with poison."

"What a delightful way to tell me that you're planning to poison my breakfast, I'll be sure to miss it." Celia was no longer gasping in pain, and her coughs grew milder with every second. She hoped that Jarrod didn't actually break her bones, healthcare in Revaire was pathetic at best and she was pretty sure her left arm still had a few fractures despite breaking them three years ago. She now knew that Gisette was on to her, though she was still in too much pain to cohesively understand why did her sister-in-law provide her with an instrument to her brother's death. Gisette saw herself out, leaving a wistful glance before truly leaving.

Celia struggled to sit up, grabbing the bottle Gisette had left on the bedside table and removing the cork that sealed it. She brought it close to her nose, grimacing as she discovered the bottle's contents. She had a feeling that it was the exact same numbing agent Lee used to coat the murder weapon seven years ago, which made it all the more concerning since she now found out that Gisette was the one who came up with the method used to murder Lord Adalric. She re-sealed the bottle and placed it back onto the bedside table, groaning as she lay in bed while coming with excuses should her daughter ask why she was in such poor condition the next day.

_'Damn it… Gisette's a huge red flag here… but I don't know how to silence her without drawing too much attention to myself…'_

* * *

She had spent months gaining Marcus's trust, and in turn, he didn't report back to Gisette about every single detail. Celia also made sure to gain the trust of all of the people serving Gisette, as well as the servants they had contact with. It was safe to say that she controlled all of the servants, with Gisette still posing as the biggest threat to her plot. Jarrod was being his usual eloquent self, screaming bloody murder at a poor servant that had served him wine three minutes earlier than the usual time. Celia sighed, eliminating her husband would be the most satisfying thing after enduring years of abuse at his hands. It was a good thing that Raisa never had meals with her father, she didn't need to witness how cruel he could be even around a six-year old.

Celia sipped her wine while observing her sister-in-law, who frowned as Jarrod smashed his plate onto the floor. In recent months, Gisette was shown to be losing patience with her brother, even hinting that she could no longer stand her brother and would rather see him dead. Celia wasn't sure if it was a deliberate trap Gisette was setting to throw her off, or that the princess genuinely couldn't stand her brother, who had absolutely zero patience with anything and everything. What truly concerned her was Gisette spending time with her niece, the last thing she wanted was for Raisa to end up like her scheming aunt. She had a feeling that Gisette saw both her and her daughter as a threat to the throne, given that she wasn't _that_ subtle in her plans to bring Revaire back to the land her father told her of.

"Get out of my sight!" Jarrod slapped the maid, causing her to weep as she left the dining room. Celia glared at her husband, her husband glaring back. No longer was he affected by his wife's subtle attempts to get him to act like a decent person, he was the King of Revaire, and everyone should be made well aware of it. "Keep your eyes to yourself, woman."

"My eyes are already in my own sockets, or have you finally gone blind like your father?" Celia quipped, sending her husband into a rage that resulted in every plate smashed into pieces and a shallow cut on her right cheek. Gisette sighed as she calmly but menacingly told both of them to either eat breakfast in silence, or to not have breakfast at all. Celia made a show of grumbling, loudly mumbling that Jarrod was a damn fool and that it was a miracle that he wasn't dead a hundred times over. Jarrod scowled as he gripped his knife, visualising graphic ways to murder his wife. "Jarrod, are you going to do anything about the revolts outside the castle? They're starting to frighten Raisa."

"Who the fuck is she and why the hell do you care about some bitch?!"

"That 'bitch' just so happens to be _our_ daughter."

"Hmph, fuck her. I didn't want _two_ whores anyway." Jarrod said as he stabbed his meat with the knife, glaring at his wife throughout their tense conversation. "Hopefully she'll grow up to be prettier than you, and scarless."

"... Maybe if you did something about the revolts, she won't end up with scars like me. Oh, and the ego of the certain asshole stabbing his breakfast like a barbarian." Jarrod was about to throw his knife at Celia, but was restrained by two servants at Gisette's request, who had enough with her brother's petty actions. He was kicking and screaming as he was dragged away, leaving the two women alone to finish their eventful breakfast. "Are you expecting some form of gratitude, or do I owe you a favour?"

"I fail to see why I can't do some good once in a while. Besides, he was ruining my breakfast." Her sister-in-law coolly replied, a half smile that didn't reach her eyes offered to Celia. The latter said nothing, her head was starting to throb, no thanks to her damn husband. It was a shame that she couldn't just enact her plan already, she still had to tie up some loose ends. Or at least, as many as she could.

A few more considerations that she had to include was how to wield her power properly without enraging the court, as well as how she would go about restoring Revaire to its former glory. She knew that with Gisette alive, Revaire would never fully return to its old self. Yet she knew that her sister-in-law was a powerful ally, just that she was hard to manipulate. All she could do for now was to convince Gisette that there was merit in returning Revaire to the way it was before the coup that placed her family in power.

"How long are you going to sleep in another bedroom from my dear brother?"

"Until my body's ready for some painful sexy time with him, until the pain in my nether regions go away, until I can forget about that night that I couldn't push him away. Who knows?"

"... You didn't seem affected by that night years ago."

"Maybe I am, maybe I'm not. Isn't it more fun to keep things up in the air?"

"Celia. As much as I hate to admit it, I _do_ care for you… and I suppose that extends to my niece. Your daughter… she deserves better than us."

"My apologies your Highness, I fear that my schedule today doesn't allow me to play a game of morality with you. Please do excuse me." Celia stood up, choosing to end the conversation before things had gotten even more complicated. Since when was the ice princess so human? There was definitely a reason why Gisette chose to adopt such a persona, it was too bad that she was busy plotting for Jarrod's death that she didn't have time to dwell on it. She would still keep her guard up, Gisette was a far looser cannon than her brother. Her ability to hide her intentions and unpredictability made her much more dangerous than Jarrod, who only had his strength going for him. _'Now then, I should start forging those letters…'_

* * *

She was halfway arguing with Jarrod when her plot was finally put into motion. Celia started the argument with her husband over the nation's dissent, a frequent topic that she had carefully chosen and raised over the weeks to target her husband's hatred for the commoners. While arguing, Marcus had passed by them, averting his eyes away from the King and the Queen as he went about his duties. Celia hid a pleased smile under angry cursing, while Jarrod, who was no wiser, grabbed his wife's neck and started to strangle her. He only released his grip after a swift kick between his legs, and the chilliest polite smile he had ever witnessed. He growled, the same type of smile that had sparked his interest was now the source of his fury towards Celia.

"Beating your wife is one thing, but strangling her is completely out of hand, even for a man-baby like you." Celia coughed, glaring at him coldly before storming off, her lips barely revealing a smirk while Jarrod hurled insults at her that ranged from her 'dirty Corval blood' to the scar on her neck which served as a reminder of her shame. She ignored them, lest she would complicate her plot even further.

She headed for Raisa's room, planning to spend some time with her daughter for at most an hour, afterwards she had plans to review the policies implemented prior to the coup 27 years ago. Her first few policies were to stabilise Revaire's economy, which was atrocious at best. Afterwards, she planned to improve the welfare of the commoners which would incentivise some nations, most likely Corval and Arland, to conduct trade with Revaire. She would then need to ensure that her policies didn't incite the rage of the court, who were bloodthirsty and mostly held the opinion that the commoners were nothing more than slaves for the nobles to exploit.

Upon entering her daughter's room, she was shocked to see her sister-in-law fondly waving a stuffed toy in front of Raisa. The sight sent shivers down her spine, what happened to Gisette loathing children with such an intensity that only her brother could match? Celia politely coughed to get her daughter's attention, who immediately went in for a hug the moment she noticed her mother. Gisette smiled, a smile that threw Celia off. There were smiles that _seemed_ genuine, and smiles that _were_ genuine. The smile on the ice princess's face belonged to the latter, and Celia couldn't tell if her sister-in-law had gotten much better at her best skill, or that she suddenly developed a set of morals, both of which terrified her.

"Mama! Eima played with me, and read me the book about the nice dog who shared his food with the grumpy cat!" Raisa beamed, blissfully unaware of politics surrounding her. Said aunt shot Celia a polite smile, her eyes not mirroring the same sentiment. Celia nodded, fondly ruffling her daughter's red hair. She was thankful that her daughter resembled her and not her father, save for the skin colour. She was even more thankful that as of now, Raisa was the innocent girl Celia hoped she would be, free from the plotting and the difficult decisions. Too bad that would soon change, Celia thought to herself. "When can I see Alab?"

"He's… busy."

"Oh… that makes sense… kings are always busy." Celia wanted to correct her daughter, that all Jarrod did was to practice his swordsmanship in a practice hall and to yell at everyone that crossed his path. She couldn't bear to ruin Raisa's impression of her father, it was easier to let her paint a perfect picture of a man everyone loathed. It was the one small mercy she would permit her daughter with, given that her plan was long set into motion. "Mama is a queen, but I see her often… are queens less busy than kings?"

"Your mother's splendid at time management while your father's… he's a workaholic." Gisette wasn't exactly wrong, he enjoyed his work. The parts where he got to abuse his power and torture a few hundred rebels at least. Celia was surprised to hear her sister-in-law framing Jarrod in a pleasant light, she genuinely believed that Gisette would ruin Raisa's innocence by giving an extremely detailed account on what her brother did during his reign. The queen shook her head, no doubt it was part of Gisette's plan, the exact details still lost on her. Once her pesky brute of a husband was lowered into the ground, she would spare no effort to learn about her sister-in-law's plans. Nothing good, she thought to herself. "Celia, will I be expecting you for breakfast tomorrow?"

"Listen here Raisa, if Eima Gisette offers to cook for you, politely refuse like how I taught you and then run." Her daughter giggled, treating it as a joke. She didn't know that her beloved aunt liked to poison her mother's meals, nor did she know that her mother was cheating on her father with said aunt. Gisette chuckled, and Celia took this as her cue to leave. If Gisette wanted to murder her niece, she would have already done so a long time ago. That was no indication that she trusted her sister-in-law the slightest, she simply preferred to leave her in Gisette's company than Jarrod's, and she wasn't sure if she could trust the servants to not inform Raisa about Revaire's current turmoils. _'That fucker should be feeling the effects before he goes to bed… let's hope he's stupid enough to not question why will I be returning to our bedroom…'_

* * *

Celia entered the bedroom she shared with Jarrod, only to see her incompetent husband squirming about in bed, his face paler than usual as he groaned weakly with pain. She smirked, delighted to see the effects of the poison working on her husband. She approached him, maintaining a neutral expression as his eyes fluttered open, gasping as he struggled to curse her.

"You know something my dearest? If you've attended the trial seven years ago… you might not be writhing in pain like what you're doing now. A damn shame, truly, I was rather disappointed to see back then that you missed the perfect acquittal I achieved. It was one of my best moments after all."

"Y-You… pathetic… wench… failure…!" Jarrod tried to reach for Celia's neck, but was unable to muster the strength to do so. He was barely able to breathe, and Celia was watching as he breathed his final moments. "... never amount… to anything…!"

"Whatever makes you pass on peacefully." Celia shrugged, pulling out a kitchen knife from underneath her dress the moment Jarrod stopped breathing. She plunged the weapon deep into his chest, blood slowly pooling out from the wound inflicted. She delicately rolled the corpse over to his side, swiftly removing the needle Marcus had used to poison Jarrod. Celia made her way to the box where her now deceased husband kept some of his fortune and tossed the needle into it.

She was aware that she had limited time to pull off her plot, the letter she had forged in Gisette's handwriting informed Marcus to meet her at the edge of a cliff near the castle. While she had marked out the quickest route to said cliff and had ensured that no servant would stand in her way, she feared that she wouldn't make it in time to arrive before the servant. It was important for her to be present before he did, else he would realise that it wasn't Gisette who pitied the queen and tasked him to murder her own brother.

Celia ran as fast as she could, bringing the bloodstained box with her as she made her way to the cliff. She arrived five minutes before the scheduled time, but was horrified to witness two figures standing at the edge of the cliff before one of them was pushed over. The remaining figure turned to face Celia, who had no chance to hide thanks to the cliff's lack of suitable hiding spots. The figure slowly made her way towards Celia, her platinum blonde hair fluttering against the strong wind. Her purple-blue eyes glimmered with amusement, her smile reaching her eyes as she finally reached Celia, who now feared for her life.

"We're now accomplices, a delightful term to bind us together. It's honestly better than marriage." Gisette spoke, eyeing the box her sister-in-law was holding. She broke into a girlish giggle, understanding what Celia wanted to do with the box. "What an interesting way to tie up loose ends!"

"Yes, it would be even better if you're not the biggest loose end of all."

"Come now, do you really think I'm as stupid as my brother?"

"Ideally, yes." Celia hoped that she was able to stay a step ahead of Gisette, the thought that the princess was the one who was a step ahead settled poorly with her. She saw that she was now deadlocked into a corner, she couldn't eliminate Gisette as it would bring too much suspicion to her, and the risk of letting her live was too great given her constant scheming. "You knew all along, haven't you?"

"I don't mind giving a monologue to you, my sweetheart, but perhaps you should throw the box over before I continue?"

"I rather you do it, we're accomplices after all." Gisette obliged, swiping the box from Celia's hands and tossing it over the cliffs and into the sea. Had Gisette not been present, she would've tossed the box over the cliff and promised Marcus to provide for his family before she pushed him to his death. She felt that it was a shame to rid such a capable servant, but ultimately he would've met his end at the cliffs just for her plot. She didn't feel guilty, though a small part of her wished that _she_ was the one who ended his life as a small token of her gratitude. "Is it considered a fortune that I don't have plans to write you off just yet?"

"Who knows? And to answer your question, I have known about your plan for about… six years? I must admit, hiding it from me for a year is rather impressive."

"Who ever said that I've been plotting for seven years?"

"Oh, silly me. I meant that I only discovered your intent to murder my intolerable brother six years ago. I'm still surprised that you managed to hide it from me for a year, maybe longer if it started during the summit."

"Again, who ever said that I've been plotting his murder for so long?"

"My dearest Celia, surely you don't believe that you were able to change him? Deep down, you knew that you would have to get rid of him eventually."

"Well, at least that explains your affectionate side. You have no idea how much it comforts me to know that you're still a block of ice."

"... Indeed." Celia noticed a flicker of hurt in Gisette's eyes, was she being sincere during their borderline tender conversations together? She banished the seed of doubt from her mind, she could trust no one, not Gisette, not the court, not even the servants back at the castle. She could only trust herself, she didn't know if it was even safe to trust her six-year old daughter. "It's a shame that you only realised now that I've been aware of your plan for a while now."

"That's something we both can agree on." Celia sighed, she had unknowingly stepped into Gisette's trap years ago and now she was dancing along to her whims. Of course, she would try to cut herself as free as she could from the strings her sister-in-law had attached to her, she didn't leave Corval's cage for an ice prison after all. "Since I have you as an audience, may I reserve some of your time tomorrow to run through some of my policies that I wish to implement?"

"I think I can free up some time for you after Jarrod's funeral, I would like to think that you have your work cut out for you."

"Wonderful, I believe I should be going back." Celia was about to make her way back to the castle, but was stopped by the princess. She didn't think that they had anything more to say, now that everything was cleared up between them. The question of whether Gisette would stab her in the back wasn't answered, but Celia knew better than to trust her sister-in-law. "Don't worry, I'll be sleeping with you tonight."

"... I do not care much for your daughter, but I'll ask you this once. Do you really intend to let her see her father like that?"

"You make it sound like I didn't choose the perfect candidate to discover my poor husband on his deathbed."

"... An answer that makes me swoon, you really do know me best." Celisa said nothing, making her way back to the castle alone while Gisette remained at the cliff for a while longer. It was a tactical move on their part, nothing good would ever result from being seen coming back together.

Celia wanted to be alone anyways, she wanted to curse herself for being incompetent at executing the perfect murder. The thought that she was dancing along to Gisette's whims without realising it enraged her, how could she have been so blind? She had been so obsessed with her ambitions and Jarrod that she failed to pay enough attention to her sister-in-law, and that costed her the narrative she wanted others to see.

She may be the Queen of Revaire now, but nothing had gone right for her ever since she left Vail Isle. She wasn't given the chance to raise a child at her own pace, instead being forced to raise Raisa while learning how to be a decent queen, and that was only possible because Gisette liked her enough to help sway the court. Hell, she was pretty sure that she wasn't raising Raisa right since she was about to be traumatised in a few hours, and all because she received a seemingly innocent letter asking her to deliver something Jarrod had ordered weeks ago.

So what if Jarrod was finally dead and the commoners of Revaire could finally sleep in peace for one night? Her plot was foiled by Gisette, and if anything, it could easily be traced back to Celia. She wondered if she was the one who was about to rule Revaire, or if it was Gisette using her as a figurehead. Celia clenched her fists, she wouldn't let the ice princess get her way. She spent seven long years letting Jarrod have his way, she refused to let Gisette have her way throughout her lifetime.

She arrived at the castle, staring at its resplendent glory. It was one of the few remaining structures that bore influences of the way Revaire was, the nation that her father used to tell her stories of prior to the coup. Then she stared at the bloodstained walls, a reminder Jarrod liked to use to remind the servants to not even think about rebelling against him. She frowned, the bloodstains serve to represent the instability she now had to deal with, a painful reminder that even after all her scheming and best efforts, she would be the failure Jarrod said she was.

_'To hell with that asshole, Revaire will be the way Pater told me about, Gisette be damned.'_


End file.
